About

Hawk Wakawaka: Philosophy, Writing, Wine

Be the change you wish to see in the world. -Gandhi

Blessed with travel, and a wealth of in-depth time with vintners from around the world, Elaine Chukan Brown uses WakawakaWineReviews.com to share more of the story. She serves as the American Specialist for JancisRobinson.com, a contributing writer for Wine & Spirits, and 2015s Frank Prial Fellow for the Napa Valley Wine Writer Symposium. Her writing on wine also appears regularly in World of Fine Wine, and in Alquimie, Men’s Health, as well as the upcoming 4th edition of the Oxford Companion to Wine, among others. As a featured guest, she has spoken about wine around the country including the UC Davis Viticulture & Enology Program, and the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) Grand Seminar. She is known for having created illustrated wine-tasting notes, which have been described by @KermitLynchWine as “a new standard in wine reviews.”

Brown’s previous work as an academic philosopher informs her views of wine, and people. She brings the rigor, thoroughness, and clarity demanded of her previous career forward to her work with wine. In traveling wine regions, and interviewing people in wine, her primary goal is always to witness the life in front of her, be it in the person or the glass.

Elaine previously served as Dartmouth College’s Charles A Eastman Fellow, a McGill University Tomlinson Fellow, Bristol Bay Native Corporation’s Student of the Year, and others. As a philosopher and poet she has presented at conferences in Russia, Czech Republic, Canada, and throughout the United States. Her academic work has been published by both Cambridge Scholarly Press, and Fulcrum: An Anthology of Poetry and Aesthetics, among others.

She began life through her 20s as a commercial salmon fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, where her family still operate their businesses. However, her favorite job has been as a volunteer animal trainer and ranch hand working with camels and other exotics for River’s Crest Dragon Slayer’s in Aptos, California. Elaine, Jr, and their pets currently live in Sonoma, California.